To Begin Again
by the.eye.does.not.SEE
Summary: After the war with the RDA, Jake & co. work to pick up the pieces of their lives and try to move on.
1. Chapter 1: Air

**To Begin Again**

_An Avatar fanfic written by ..SEE._

Author's Note: Okay, so this is my first Avatar fanfic. I've tried multiple times to write one...and I always just end up begging off. Hopefully that won't happen with this one.

Just be sure to know: With all the schoolwork and other activities recently, it'll be hard for me to write at regular intervals. I'll try, I promise, to write as often as I can. I'll make sure never to go longer then two weeks without posting, unless I notify you guys first. Here's to hoping you'll come back for more.

_Chapter Summary:_ This story picks up from the moment the movie ends in the mobile link up in the forest, after the fight with Quaritch and after Neytiri saved Jake's human body (as well as his Na'vi one; girl power! haha). I'll expand outwards as the chapters move on, and anything I mention that you can't remember will probably be found in the movie script, which is available online.

Disclaimer: I have never, will never, and do not currently own _Avatar. _I am merely borrowing the characters and settings for my own amusement.

Enough is enough; I hope you enjoy this!

**Chapter 1: Air**

_"I See you."_

_ "I See you,"_ Neytiri replied, tears dripping down her face. But, for once, they were happy tears. The invaders had been defeated, and she and Jake had been saved. Jake, her Jake, one of the Omaticaya, _Toruk Macto—_was human. Now, usually, she would hate to be this close to one of the detested Sky People…But this was her Jake.

She knew the other Na'vi people might not see it the same way, but she knew who he really was. He might have different colored skin or a smaller body, but none of that really mattered. Jake was Jake, and she still loved him, no matted what body he was in. Just as she had told him the night they had mated, _"_This _body is real. _This_ spirit is real…When I was first you teacher, I hated all Sky People. But you have also taught me. Spirit is all that matters."_ Those few sentences had been the truth—and they would always be the truth.

There was _one_ thing that bothered her, though. There was a rather troublesome mask of plastic covering his face. And, in a moment like this, there wasn't really any excuse for something between them.

Just a second after she removed the mask, the two mates shared a passionate and lingering kiss. Even though it was the first time they'd ever kissed while Jake was human, it was still exactly the same. Their lips moved in perfect synchronization, melding to one another…Before they realized that, though it didn't seem any different, Jake was human—and he needed air. Plus, Neytiri realized as she adjusted his oxygen mask with a smile, though they had killed Quaritch, it did not mean that they were necessarily safe. Jake, for one, was stuck in his human body. And though Neytiri was fine with it now, it was going to prove a problem when Jake tried to marshal the Omaticaya and other clans together. Not to mention moving.

First, they needed to get Jake back to his avatar. Now that their mobile link was unusable, Neytiri would have to move him somewhere else for him to get back into his avatar again. Jake tried to communicate through Neytiri's mike, but there didn't seem to be anyone out there.

"Here, can you help me get up? I've got to get to my chair, its over there," Jake said, pointing to the corner he'd knocked it into in his previous rush for air. Trying to scramble through a space that was obviously much too small for her, Neytiri snagged the chair from the corner and, with Jake's assistance, opened it wide enough for him to sit in.

Neytiri stood back as he deftly maneuvered his wheelchair around the fallen debris, a feat that would've proved almost impossible for any first-timer, but, with Jake's years of practice, took only a few minutes.

Neytiri was curious. Though she knew he would explain anything she asked about, Neytiri felt that, just by his body language, this might be a sore subject. Even the way he looked in that contraption was enough to tell her not to bother him about it…At least not until he was back to his other body—the one he was obviously so much more comfortable in.

Once Jake had gotten to the other side of the bunker, he booted up the computer, praying it wasn't too damaged to link up to Hell's Gate's Communication Center. Neytiri came up and crouched behind him just as Max's face came onscreen.

Neytiri had never seen this sky person, and her first instinct was to lash out at him. Jake seemed friendly enough, though, so Neytiri let it go. He even greeted her when he saw her onscreen, but quickly went back to Jake, loudly rejoicing about the battle, and leaving her alone without waiting for a reply.

_Just as well,_ Neytiri thought_. How does he even know me? Would Jake have mentioned me to his Sky People friends?_ Neytiri wasn't sure how she felt about that. Should she be angry or…flattered? That she was that important to Jake that he thought he should mention her to his friends? Even before this whole mess happened? Perhaps before they even mated?

She knew now, of course, what she meant to him (and vice versa), but this Max person acted as if he'd known her for a long time. Had Jake thought about her enough when the first met to mention her to his friends? Neytiri smiled; she'd question him later.

"…So they're still there? Is the linking room still ready? Is there any chance you could get a shuttle out here to take Neytiri and I back?"

Neytiri was drawn away from her thoughts at the sound of her name. When the words she was hearing registered, she lightly bared her teeth, showing disapproval at this plan.

"Yeah, they're working. I think we can get a shuttle, but with the battle and everything there might not be anything left…Let me check…" And with that, Max left the screen.

"I do not want you going back into their machines. They are_ not_ safe."

"Neytiri, it'll be fine, I promise. Max wouldn't lie to us anyway; he helped us coordinate battle plans—he's trustworthy, I swear. Plus, I doubt my ikran could carry us _and_ the chair, not even Toruk" Jake assured her. He ran a hand through his hair and turned his face back to the monitor when he heard Max's voice.

"Yeah, we've got one or two Samsons here…But they're just leftover civilian ships from earth, I'll have to find a pilot."

"Okay, call it in. We'll be waiting here," Jake signed off and turned to Neytiri.

"_So,"_ he said matter-of-factly.

"Yes?"

"I'm guessing you've got some questions," Jake said, gesturing to his wheelchair. Neytiri was torn—should she go along with what he was saying and ask him what she wanted to know, or be polite and stay silent for who knows how long? Being characteristically bold, Neytiri chose the former.

"I do, actually. What is that? And why do you use it?" Neytiri asked, looking at the wheelchair supporting him.

"It's a wheelchair, and I use it because I lost the use of my legs in a battle a long time ago on my home planet. I have to use it as a human, but, as an avatar, I got the use of my legs back. That's actually why I came here—to be able to use my legs again. And to make a difference. Thankfully, I achieved both of those goals," Jake finished with a smile. "Plus a few more," he added, stroking her cheek.

"Is that why your human legs are so small then?"

Jake grimaced, but wasn't offended by her bluntness. It was one of the reasons he loved her. "Yeah, it is. Since I can't use my legs, they lose all of their muscle and they shrivel, like rotting fruit."

Neytiri looked down, feeling guilty for pressing him on a subject that seemed sad for him to recount.

"Hey," Jake said, touching her face. "I asked you if you had questions, remember? I've gotten used to giving these answers over the years, and besides…I wanted you to know. It feels like you know the _human_ me a bit better now. That's nice," Jake finished with a smile. Jake wanted to kiss her so badly, and he would've, if it weren't for that damn mask. Instead, he decided they should get moving; Max might be here soon.

"Want to head outside? I bet it's really cramped in here for you, and I think Max'll have a pilot here soon."

Once they were outside, Neytiri listened for the sounds of incoming aerial ships. After a couple minutes, they heard the sounds of an approaching aircraft.

"Don't worry, it's Max." Jake could see his hand waving from the co-pilot seat, and a bit of his scruffy beard hanging out the side of the Samson.

"Hey Jake!"

Max hopped out and greeted Jake, unsurprised that he was in his chair—he's noticed Jake's human form on their video feed, but had waited to ask him about it until he saw Jake in person.

"Uh, Neytiri, this is Max; Max this is Neytiri," Jake extrapolated as the new Sky Person walked closer. "He helped us during the war—he's the guy on the inside who sent us all the information about the Sky People's plans."

"Ah_._ Um, hello…Mahx."

"Hey, Neytiri, nice to finally meet you," Max said with a smile and a quick look towards Jake that was _not_ missed by Neytiri. "Okay, so we should get you guys back to Hell's gate. We can pack up your avatar; you'll need it to deal with everything. And trust me, there's a lot to deal with."

"Great. Well, we better get going then," Jake said as he wheeled himself over to the Samson. Just as he was about to ask for a little help, Neytiri was behind him, lifting the whole chair into the copter.

"Thanks, Neytiri," Jake said, blushing faintly.

"It was nothing." She was obviously enjoying making him blush. Jake looked away and addressed Max.

"Do we know who survived? No one was responding on my feed before Eywa's intervention…Did any of them survive? Norm? Tsu'tey? Mo'at?" Jake knew not to mention Trudy's name…He'd known she had already died, but with all the suffering, it was hard to process the loss of even more life.

"I'm not sure about any of the Na'vi, but I know Norm's okay. His human body is at least," Max answered.

"His _human_ body? What happened to his avatar? Is it still alive? If we hurry, I bet we can pick it up somewhere!"

"He got shot," Max explained as Jake winced. The idea of even a temporary Norm getting shot was a shaky subject—Jake could barely imagine Norm going into battle. It had seemed like such an unrealistic and unusual feat during those first few months on Pandora. Jake was just happy Norm was alive. For Norm, having one body was just as good as having the other.

"Will the avatar be okay? They can survive more damage then humans, right? With the carbon fiber or something?"

"He'll be fine, I think—We already got a team to go out and pick up his avatar; they're scouting for survivors now. By the way, we told them that if any RDA survivors are found, they're to be sent back to Hell's Gate. While you guys were gone, we set up a temporary holding area to deal with all staff members. We weren't really sure what you guys wanted to do with them," Max looked at Jake, hoping for a clear solution.

"Well, we'll have to think about that…Should we ask The People? Do you think Mo'at should decide? Tsu'tey?" Jake directed these last few questions at Neytiri. Neytiri thought about the dilemma for a minute before answering.

"They must leave. _Now_. It's been our outlook since all of this started. We must send them back to their world. S_a'nok _ and _olo'eyktan_ will agree. I'm sure," Neytiri stated with finality, and a warm look toward Max (as he had just helped save their planet), "that a few may stay."

"All right, then," Jake said, turning to Max before sparing a broad smile to Neytiri, "send 'em home!"

Laughter could be heard inside the Samson as it raced towards "Hell's" Gate—Pandora would finally be theirs again.

Translations:

_Toruk Macto: _Rider of Last Shadow (or, Great Leonopteryx); is said to be able to save the Na'vi clans from times of Great Sorrow; aka Jake.

_Sa'nok: _Mother; Mo'at.

_Olo'eyktan: _Clan leader; aka Tsu'tey in this story.


	2. Chapter 2: Hell's Gate

Chapter 2: "Hell's" Gate

_ This chapter is dedicated to Tsu'tey. A lot of the time I read fics where Tsu'tey is portrayed as the bad guy, the one whisking away Neytiri without her consent…But that isn't how I saw it. The more I thought about it, the more I saw that Tsu might've been perfect for her if Jakey here hadn't come along. And just because I think Tsu's voice should be heard, doesn't mean I don't love Jaytiri (I DO btw! They're fantastic 3). I just think Tsu would've fit Neytiri fine as well. And it wouldn't have disrupted everyone's life ;)_

_ Also: I spent a long time trying to find out the distance from Hell's Gate to the Tree of Souls/Hallelujah Mountains…I didn't find anything, so I just put in a vague distance. If anyone knows the real distance, feel free to comment/PM me and I'll change it. Thanks._

_ As always, translations and pronunciations are at the bottom._

_ Also: Guess what—I just found out that the Na'vi/RDA war took place on my birthday! Makes it quite a day to celebrate :)_

When they landed, Jake saw what Max meant about 'a lot to deal with.' There were not only humans everywhere, but Na'vi everywhere. The other clans had outposts stationed all around Hell's Gate—_We're really going to have to rename that soon_, Jake thought—and had small grouping of warriors who were being tended either by their Tsahiks or some Sky People. Those who interacted with the Sky People seemed to only do so to show that Na'vi medicine worked better. And it did, in most cases.

This time, there were no shouts of _Toruk Macto!_ When Jake entered the compound. It was actually odd for him—he was about to call out to those he recognized camped nearby, but then he remembered.

To them, he was just another Sky Person, albeit, an obviously injured one. But still a Sky Person. A person, under the current circumstances, of hate.

Neytiri also refrained from calling out to her comrades, but continued to follow Max and her mate indoors, leaving his avatar in the closed compartments of the Samson.

"Be sure to keep this on," Jake said, handing exopack designed for Na'vi to Neytiri, "and it'll be just like normal Pandoran air." Neytiri obliged, and then followed the two to the link room. It was a little awkward for her; not only was she a fully-grown Na'vi, but she was covered in not only her blood, but that also of the _palulukan_ and other victims. Plus, she was trying to stay as close as possible to Jake, who would've been small on just a human-to-Na'vi-ratio, but, seeing as he was in a wheelchair, he was half that height.

Luckily, there weren't many people around. Those who were still working were only the most faithful lab techs, and though it was very odd to see a full-grown Na'vi walking through the halls, it wasn't a complete shock. They worked with the avatar program anyway. And she wasn't the biggest shock of the day.

Max quickly got Jake to the link, telling Neytiri what would happen once he went inside. She was loath to let him go inside that solid-metal hammock contraption, but, if it was what it took for him to be in the body he loved again, she let him. Not that she minded him human form. She actually found him almost identical to his Na'vi form, and incredibly handsome.

"Okay, so, Neytiri—if you want, we can walk back outside and meet him halfway. Plus, I bet that exopack is getting annoying. I know _I_ hate wearing them," Max joked with a friendly wink. Neytiri really was starting to like this Sky Person. It was a good thing he was staying. Neytiri wondered if he was a _uniltìranyu _as well.

Being back in his Na'vi body was like coming home. Though he had been apart from his heightened senses, working legs, and superior strength for less than two hours, it was still a surprise how much better he fit into this lifestyle than his former one. _Was that really even my life?_ It all seemed to take place so long ago.

Jake's real family was the Omiticaya people and Neytiri. _Neytiri._ Just thinking of her made him more excited. As he unstrapped his body from its confines within the Samson, Neytiri ran up, with Max trailing about thirty yards away. _She could really move fast when she wanted to_, Max observed with a grin, standing back by the building to let the two have a semi-private reunion in their corresponding bodies.

Jake, once unharnessed from the seat, got up and kissed Neytiri full on the lips for a few minutes before breaking their kiss to look into her eyes.

"_Oel ngati Kameie_," Jake recited with a perfect accent and strong emotion.

"_Oel ngati Kameie,_" Neytiri returned, with equal parts love and longing.

"_TORUK MACTO!" _The shouts went up in the air once they pulled apart—the nearby people from the Northern Rivers noticing the new arrival. Soon the cry spread, and Jake didn't have much else to do than stand there, looking proud of _his_ _people_. In the midst of it all, Jake yelled out his own howl:

"_Ma smukan, ma smuke—__**FITSENGE AWNGEYÄ!"**_

The last section of his cry was called out with such a deafening roar that it must've shook the entire moon to its core. The surrounding Na'vi were not fazed, though, and the screams echoing his call erupted from all edges of the compound; it was even heard far into the forest. Later, Jake would find out, the strength of their bellows reached not only to the forest's edge, but hundreds of miles into the Pandoran landscape—extending out to the Tree of Souls.

The Na'vi warriors guarding the groupings of Sky People among them saw their hated charges visibly shaking with fear. To say the least, this spurred on the outcry even more.

When the celebrations finally died down, Jake and Neytiri gathered the remaining Na'vi and told them to go to the Tree of Souls, but asked each clan to leave a group of warriors as well as their leader to help out here. Jake promised each and every Na'vi that once matters were settled here at the Sky People's base, he would return with every single warrior and _olo'eyktan_ and celebrate with them all. Each leader sent their clan off with either their respective _Tsahik_, if she was here, or with their strongest warrior to lead the group. Once the gathering had dispersed with the aid of their ikrans, pa'li or on foot, Jake summoned the volunteering warriors (which was most of the warrior population, save for the injured ones) and sent them out of scavenging missions for the rest of their people.

Jake knew that there were still many warriors out there—and hopefully not all were dead. Before telling them to head out, Jake took aside the two warriors who had climbed _Iknimaya_ with him.

"Ri'uke, Yetrol, I have a very important mission for you. I need you to find _ma smukan, _Tsu'tey. He disappeared in the middle of battle, and I haven't seen him since," Jake tried to translate this all, but needed to help of Neytiri so the two warriors could _really _understand the importance of their mission.

They nodded, and he sent them off, telling the two to work quickly—_olo'eyktan_ must still be out there, and he _must_ be found. Plus, when they did find Tsu'tey, for Jake knew they would, they needed to have a _long_ conversation.

The thought of speaking to Tsu'tey again both excited and scared Jake. He was excited, of course, to see the mighty warrior alive and able to lead the Omaticaya…But what was their relationship now?

Jake had stolen Neytiri away from him, as well as Tsu'tey pride in a battle for revenge. Sure, Tsu'tey had trusted him to lead the main war party…But Jake knew that courtesy wouldn't hold out for long. Tsu'tey had trusted Jake because he was Toruk Macto.

How far could that go, though? What was Tsu'tey to do? Who would he mate with? And Neytiri? Since she chose Jake, she would never be Tsahik. As her mother said, her life will have been "wasted."

It was clear in Tsu'tey eyes that Jake and Neytiri's actions had greatly hurt him. Before he lashed out at Jake in the fight, there was a very emotional flash that passed through Tsu'tey's eyes—and it wasn't just at being jilted. It went deeper then that. Tsu'tey had known Neytiri all his life, and vice versa. They were to be mated since the moment it was made clear that Tsu'tey was the greatest warrior of his generation. That was how it worked. The next olo'eyktan mated with the next Tsahik. There was no room for some jarhead in a fake body to disrupt that.

Now that things were calming down, Jake realized that he'd have to face the consequences of his actions. Actions, which, at the time, had seemed so pure and filled with love were now proving to have been mean-spirited and selfish.

Of course Jake loved Neytiri. But Tsu'tey did too.

Translations:

_Ma smukan: _brothers

_Ma smuke:_ sisters

_Fitsenge awngeyä:_ this is our land

_Iknimaya: _literally "Path to Heaven"; path that leads towards the ikran rookery, the trip taken by all would-be hunters

_Tshaik:_ Spiritual leader of each Na'vi clan. It a responsibility passed from mother to daughter.

_Pa'li: _Direhorse

Pronunciations:

_Ri'uke:_ ree—uke

_Yetrol:_ you—trell


	3. Chapter 3: Anticipation

Chapter 3: Anticipation

_The "aliens from space" line in this chapter refers to James Cameron's original script, where, in the video log that Quartich shows Grace, Jake says that "They're not going to give up their _home—_they're not going to make a _deal._ For what? Lite beer and the shopping channel? There's _nothing_ that we have that they want. We're a horror to them. _We're _the monsters from space" _(_Avatar_ 101)_. Personally, I love this quote. I love how they turn the saying around—and its so truthful too._

_ One last thing: I know this chapter is really short…But I felt like giving you guys a little cliffhanger :)_

"Okay, so I'm going to follow the judgment of Neytiri here; I'm sure that all of you will agree," Jake began, speaking to the assembled Na'vi leaders. "The Sky People must leave, and they must leave _now_. Do any of you disagree with this?"

No one did. And no one doubted him. Only a few days ago, many of these revered chiefs and chieftesses would be asking him why he wasn't planning on joining his kind on their trip home. But by now, they all knew that Jake was one of them. He was Toruk Macto, after all. Ewya wouldn't have chosen him if he wasn't really one of The People.

"How will we rid them of our world?" Akwey, the leader of the horse clan of the plains, spoke up.

"They have a ship," Jake explained, with the help of Neytiri, "that'll get them off of Pandora. It will take them from here and into the sky, where they will connect with another, bigger, ship that can take them all of the way back to their home."

"How will we make sure they will never return?"

Jake thought for a moment. He wasn't sure how to approach this question. He could placate them and lie, or he could tell the cold, hard truth. He decided to go with the truth.

"We can never be sure," he began cautiously, much to the dismay of those assembled around him. "But I believe that we have sent a strong enough message. The Sky People take us seriously now, and I don't think they'll want to fight another war anytime soon. They'll go back to their planet, and we'll stay on ours. If they do come back, we'll be ready. It will take them more than eleven years to go all the way home and then come back, especially if they stay for an extending period of time before returning."

This notion seemed to appease most of the leaders, but a few still looked uneasy. The war had taken a huge toll on the Na'vi population, hurting some clans much more than others. Seeing their apprehension, Jake sought to calm them down.

"That time frame alone will give us enough time to grow our numbers up again. We'll be able to train new warriors, and fashion new battle tactics, if need be. We can even practice specific war strategies if it will make you all feel more comfortable.

"But, really, if they are going to return anytime soon, we'll know about it. They need to announce themselves as they fly closer to the moon, and even if they don't, we've got a few people monitoring those frequencies just to make sure. We'll be safe, for at least the next decade, if the Sky People follow these terms."

Since some of the worry had come off of the _olo'eyktans' _faces, Jake decided it was time to deal with the Sky People personally.

"If no one else has any questions for the time being, I'd like to speak with the Sky People as a whole, to make them see that they are _not_ welcome here. If any of you would like to accompany me, you may do so."

Though many of the leaders wanted to return to their respective clans, they decided to follow Toruk Macto, and have one last chance at scaring the hell out of those horrible monsters from space.

"Neytiri," Jake said quietly as he drew her to the side, "I think you should take The People back."

"What? How will I do that? They already left…" She had a quizzical look on her face; she was expecting to see these Sky People in their darkest hour…and her people had left at least ten minutes ago.

"They did—but I've been thinking about it. There are many wounded Omaticaya, and not many warriors. It isn't safe for them out there. They've just barely cleared the forest, look," he gestured to the eastern gate where the last few Omaticaya people could be seen disappearing into the forest. "We need someone to lead our people back to the Tree of Souls. It's dangerous out there—many of the Omiticaya left here were injured from the battle, and they wouldn't be able to fend off any _palulukans _or viperwolves if they are alone. I know you'll be able to take care of them—and there isn't anyone I trust more."

"Okay," she answered, seeing his point.

"Great," Jake said, giving her a quick kiss before turning back to the _olo'eyktans._

"Jake, wait," Neytiri stopped him, grabbing his arm. "I want to do something first. It won't take long," she said quickly when he was about to interrupt, "We killed their great warrior—"

"_You _killed him," Jake interjected with a smile.

"—but who is their _olo'eyktan_? I have something to say to him." The look on Neytiri's face told him that she wasn't screwing around. Jake quickly turned back to the clan leaders, saying that he and Neytiri had to have a word with someone before they went in. The leaders all nodded and then went back to their conversation.

"Let's go." Neither had ever seen a larger grin on the other's face. Anticipation was an amazing thing.

Translations:

_Palulukan:_ thantor


	4. Chapter 4: Consequences

Chapter 4: Consequences

Author's Note: The "flashback" used in this chapter is taken verbatim from James Cameron's Avatar script. Also, I took a few liberties with a couple of the scenes described in the script and in the movie; I know that the departure scene was done a bit differently, but I tweaked it for the purposes of this story.

PS: One of the scenes before this one, on page 145, features Max totally screwing Parker and the Ops center…I can so see him in my head, flicking Parker off. It made me laugh when I read it ;)

Disclaimer: Just because I've seen Avatar eight times doesn't mean I own it, but it does mean that I love it enough to write fanfiction about it.

Spurred by their excitement, Jake and Neytiri bounded quickly across the expanse of Hell's Gate until they reached the main offices of the RDA supervisors on Pandora. They then entered the large orientation room where the human invaders were being held while waiting for transport.

To keep order, a few Na'vi warriors had stayed behind to act as guards. There were only four, but they were intimidating enough to quell even the most rebellious among the large group. Jake didn't hesitate, merely nodding to the guards politely before walking down the center aisle. On his way to the front, many of the Sky People recognized him and Neytiri and murmurings began spreading through the enclosed room.

"Parker!" Jake called out, instantly seeing the snap of a head in the far area of the room, farthest from the guards. "My mate has something to say to you."

If this was a less tense situation there might've been giggles from those assembled at the use of the term "mate." However, most of the humans were so awed by the regal presence of Jake and the terrifying war-painted and bloodied-up image of Neytiri that they didn't dare.

As the approached Parker, Neytiri moved in front of Jake. All eyes were upon her as they closed in on him. Some thought she was going to kill him, torture him in front of the others to make a spectacle. Others thought that she and Jake were going to lock him in solitary confinement and question him, or keep him as a prisoner on Pandora. The ideas got more and more graphic as their view of Neytiri became more and more twisted and fearsome.

As they reached Parker, he looked up, all the way up, to Neytiri's face. "You run this company," Neytiri said with accented English and surprising calm, but still with an unshakeable air of authority, telling all that it was a statement, not a question. Parker wanted to argue, saying he simply ran this operation, but he knew that it was useless. He simply nodded, trying not to let his fear show.

"This is your fault," she snarled. "Our People did not need to die. Our world was safe, peaceful before you and your scum came here. You traveled here for your own greed. You attacked us. You destroyed our home, our families, our People. For what? For nothing! You killed them, killed them all, and you should die for it. My Jake," she put her hand on his bicep, "wants to merely send you home without punishment. But that is unacceptable. There must be consequences." And with that, Neytiri swung her hand, slashing across the whole a Parker's face, leaving four deep, elongated gashes over the width of his face.

Parker immediately howled with pain, clutching the four deep lacerations, stretching from his left cheek and upper temple, across his nose, eyes, and lips, and ending on the opposite side of his face. Whoops from the Na'vi guards could be heard in the background, and gasps from the Sky People. With the superior Na'vi strength and speed, Neytiri was able to dish out a very painful and scarring mark of what he had done to her people, etched into his face for years to come.

"Now everyone on your world shall know who you are, what you have done, and the small, so very small, price that you have paid for your actions."

Flicking the blood off of her nails, Neytiri spat in his direction, turned around, and walked out—with her head held high and a smile playing on the corners of her lips. Jake stood there for a moment longer, looking after her, just like everyone else, before his eyes snapped back to Parker's.

"I'd say I was sorry…But I'm not." Jake then followed in the path of his mate, before stopping halfway to the door. He seemed to struggle with a decision before turning around. When he did, he came back to face Parker, whose face was still bleeding profusely.

"You know what…Neytiri's right. That was too small of a price." With lightning speed Jake's right fist snapped out, colliding into his head with a deafening crack, before Parker groaned and then went limp.

"Pansy-ass bitch." Jake gave a little snort of satisfaction before finally turning around and leaving.

"Toruk Macto!" The guards called out to him as he left, smiles on their faces. Jake just grinned.

When Jake stepped outside, he saw Neytiri leaning on a nearby building, looking a bit ashamed. Jake jogged up to her, about to ask her what was wrong, but she beat him to it.

"I hope you aren't too unhappy with what I did back there," she said, without meeting his eyes.

"Unhappy? Why would I be unhappy? That was awesome!"

"Because I acted out of rage. I just…attacked him. I should've checked with you first. I completely disregarded your judgment in front of a crowd of Sky People and Na'vi. I'm sorry."

"Hey, hey. It's completely okay. You don't need to ask my permission to do anything. Why are you thinking now that I'm someone whose ideas should be followed, especially by you? I'm a skxawng, remember?" Jake laughed quietly, trying to bring her out of her foul mood.

"You are not. You are Toruk Macto." Neytiri stood firm on her position.

"I don't care if I'm olo'eyktan! You don't need my permission to do anything, okay? We're clan members, friends, mates—equals. Besides," Jake continued, taking her hand and walking her toward the forests' edge, "after you destroyed his face, I punched him in the head."

Neytiri giggled, amused that the idea of Toruk Macto, the greatest warrior of them all, simply punching his enemies in the head.

"Ha! See, I knew I could get you to smile," Jake said, kissing her nose. "Okay, are you good to lead The People home? I've still got to talk to the leaders yet, and ship the Sky People out of here. We weren't in there that long; the Omaticaya can't have gotten far."

"Yes, I will lead them home. Get rid of the Tawtutes."

"I will," he called, turning back to the compound as she ran into the forest. Once Jake reached Akwey and the others, they began to head towards the Sky People's congregation.

Walking with powerful strides, Jake and the other olo'eyktans entered the orientation room, where, just a day ago, the Sky People were planning their assault on the Tree of Souls. Not much had changed since Neytiri and Jake attacked Parker; no one had even moved to help him. They must think we're savage, Jake thought, happy to be lumped in with the Na'vi in any connotation. Well, whatever keeps them away from here is fine with me. They've no doubt spread false rumors throughout earth about us.

Walking down the center aisle, Jake and his comrades spread out in a long line at the front of the room. It was times like these that Jake wished he wasn't Toruk Macto. He wished Tsu'tey was here; he would know how to deal with the situation. Jake's thoughts strayed as he wondered if Ri'uke and Yetrol had found him yet. How long would it take for them to scour the jungle? It was large, but the battle was semi-localized, wasn't it?

"Jakesully." Akwey's voice brought him back from his thoughts, "These tawtutes need to know that we are serious. You have shown them this, yes?" Akwey gestured to the bleeding, but now conscious Parker in the corner.

"Yes, I think so. Don't you, Parker?" Jake couldn't help smiling as he glanced over to his former enemy. Parker looked up, scowled a bit, but as Jake made a move to step forward, he immediately wiped it off his face. The guards laughed; even a couple of the olo'eyktans smiled. Jake was in full Toruk Macto-mode now.

"They know that if they even set foot on our world again we will obliterate them. They know that we will not tolerate their presence on this moon so long as it is for greed-filled purposes. Until they can learn to live with us and respect our way of life and our world, they are not allowed here. We will not hesitate to eradicate them from this moon, and, as well all know, it has been done before." Jake paused, letting the message sink in.

"Tsa'u nìtam?" Jake asked. He knew that they didn't understand most of his little speech, but, by the look of the crowd, the other olo'eyktans knew that he definitely scared those damn tawtues away. "Nì'aw 'aw 'u ne si."

Jake messaged Max on his mic, asking him to send a message to ISV Venture Star telling them to send in a Valkyrie Shuttle to fit all of their humans on board. Jake tells Max that he needs to make sure the Venture Star's crew realize that this is their last trip from Pandora. Max obliges, saying that they shuttle will be down in a minute.

"I'm guessing some of you heard that," Jake turns back to address the humans after he had explained his plans to the agreeing Na'vi, "but if you didn't, listen to me now. The Valkyrie Shuttle will be down here soon to take you all back to Earth. You will not be coming back. I'd say gather your belongings, but I'm betting most of your things were destroyed already. Our Na'vi guards and avatars will escort you onto the shuttle. You can get up now and wait outside the building; by the time you all get out, it should be here."

Deciding that their point had been made, the leaders waited for the room to be clear of humans before walking out, with Jake bringing up the rear. Outside, the Shuttle had just touched down, and a cluster of avatars were holding machine guns, guiding the mass of humans onto the Shuttle. Jake stood to the side, along with the other leaders, each in their respective war attire, sporting painted bodies, ceremonial decorations, as well as very formidable weapons.

As Parker shuffles up the ramp, his eyes meet Jake's. As if to compliment his bloodied face, Parker's eyes hold almost no emotion. While the others look angry and sullen, Parker's eyes just looked lost. Jake held his gaze until he disappeared into the ship.

Just as the shuttle took off, a frantic voice came over Jake's transmitter.

"Jake! You must come quickly! Tsu'tey, the People—we need you," Neytiri's breathless voice filled the air as Jake paused mid-step.

"Neytiri, calm down. What happened?" The other olo'eyktans gave him a curious look. He ignored them, focusing on what Neytiri was telling him.

"The People and I just reached Vitraya Ramunong…The tawtutes," Neytiri said, sounding as if she was crying, "they attacked Tsu'tey. They….they cut his Tsaheylu. Jake, you must come. He needs you, I can tell. Jake, please." Neytiri is crying now, and Jake is shaking with rage. He can only think of one person besides Quaritch who would be as cold-blooded to do this. Wainfleet. Full-blown snarls and yells can be heard among the other olo'eyktans and avatars as they process what has happened to one of their own.

***flashback***

Tsu'tey lies gasping, mortally injured. He looks up, grimacing, as an AMPsuit looms over him.

Lyle Wainfleet reaches down and grabs Tsu'tey by his queue, lifting him painfully.

"I hear this is worse than death for you, chief."

Wainfleet cuts Tsu'tey's queue off near the base. Tsu'tey screams in agony, his nervous system exploding on overload. Grinning, Wainfleet holds up the queue—Tsu'tey's only connection to the world-consciousness which is his life.

***end of flashback***

"I'm coming, don't worry," Jake says into the mic on his neck before turning to the other leaders. With a look, he knows that they understand. He turns back, calling for his Toruk, who lands a little ways away. Jake runs up and quickly bonds with him, taking to the sky just as swiftly.

Jake's usual exuberance at riding is completely gone. Tsu'tey…Tsaheylu…Never to bond with anything or anyone again…Jake couldn't even comprehend what that would be like. He felt horrible even riding Toruk; something Tsu'tey wouldn't ever be able to do again, even if he had his own. Racing through the air, pushing Toruk harder and harder, Jake's mind is a blur of thoughts and emotion. Though his thoughts move so fast, Toruk seems to understand the situation and begins beating his wings even more wildly. Jake only wished that Wainfleet was still alive, so he could kill him personally.

Translations:

Skxawng: moron

Tawtute: Sky Person

Tsaheylu: Literally, "the bond." It is the long queue (or braid) of hair on every Na'vi's head that connects them to ikrans, pa'li, palulukans, as well as their world, Eywa, and each other.

Tsa'u nìtam?: Is that enough?

Nì'aw 'aw 'u ne si: Only one thing [left] to do

Vitraya Ramunong: Tree of Souls


	5. Chapter 5: Olo'eyktan

Chapter 5: Olo'eyktan

_Author's Note: The Tsu'tey scene in this chapter is from James Cameron's _Avatar _script. I've tweaked a couple parts, but it is for the most part verbatim from the script—I'm trying to keep the scene as pure as possible, especially because its such an important part of the script. It can be found on pages 149-150._

_ I know this chapter is short, (sorry!) but I wrote it over a period of days, so it seems long to me. I'll update soon with a longer chapter._

Jake lands his Touk in the far corner of the Well of Souls, running up quickly to the makeshift altar the base of the Tree of Souls. There, Mo'at is tending to Tsu'tey's wounds, and by the look on her face, everyone can see that Tsu'tey would be dead even if it weren't for the mental anguish that he was experiencing from the disconnection of his _Tsaheylu_. The congregated Na'vi are quiet, either tending to wounds or praying to Eywa for the survival of their clearly incapacitated olo'eyktan.

When Jake reaches the altar, he kneels beside his brother. Sensing a presence, Tsu'tey opens his eyes and recognizes Jake.

"_Oel ngati kameie, _Jakesully," Tsu'tey manages to grit out through his pain.

"_Oel ngati kameie, Tsu'tey te Rongloa Ateyitan_."

"_Pongu zong?" _Tsu'tey is worried for his people, worried for others, always before himself.

_ "Ayfo zong. Tawtute kea nì'ul," _Jake responds, even though the strongest among them is clearly on his deathbed. As if echoing Jake's thoughts, Tsu'tey reaches for the stump of what's left of his queue.

"I can never ride again, or bond with a woman—or hear the voice of Eywa. I cannot lead The People. _You_ will lead them, Jakesully."

"No. I'm not officer material," Jake responds quickly. _How can I lead them? I'm not even _one_ of them! Not truly…_

"It is decided. Now do the duty of _olo'eyktan. _Set my spirit free."

"I'm not killing you," Jake responds in disbelief.

"I am already dead," Tsu'tey retorts firmly.

"No," Jake retorts feebly, knowing that he is losing this battle. Tsu'tey has made up his mind, and it is impossible to sway him.

"_It is the way_. And it is good. I will be remembered," Tsu'tey says weakly but with emotion, "I fought with Toruk Macto, we were brothers—and he was my last shadow." Tsu'tey clutches Jake's hand in an unbreakable grip. Resigned, Jake slowly draws his knife, leaning forward. The assembled Na'vi are now completely silent—all eyes are focused on Tsu'tey and Jake.

Jake leans forward, blocking out the sun—and his shadow falls across the dying Tsu'tey.

"_Txoa oe tsmukan. Kä set ne Eywa,"_ Jake murmurs as he quickly ends Tsu'tey's agony. Jake continues his prayer, his eyes filling with tears as Neytiri, Mo'at, and then the rest of the clan slowly join in.

"What…What do we do with…?" Jake trails off, unable to finish. They have just finished the Na'vi death rites, and now Jake is faced with what to do _as olo'eyktan_ in the absence of one of the greatest warriors of this generation.

"Do not worry, Jakesully. Neytiri and I will take care of him," Mo'at responds softly, laying a comforting hand on his shoulder. Jake looks a little relieved, but he doesn't seem ready to give up Tsu'tey's body—even if it is only to his mate and her mother.

"Jake, do not worry," Neytiri consoles him, sensing his reluctance. "We will do our best. Remember, I've trained for this."

Jake nods, knowing that he won't ever be able to stomp out tradition. He lets his mate and Mo'at take away his fallen brother, with the help of a few of Tsu'tey's closest hunters. Jake just squats there for a minute before realizing that _he_ is the new leader. Not knowing what else to do, Jake simply turns towards the Tree of Souls, and puts up a silent prayer to Eywa, connecting his queue. He would normally be speaking out loud, but with the audience and his worried over his newfound responsibilities, he thought it best not to voice his concerns.

_Eywa, if you're still looking out for me, which I hope you are—I want to ask you a favor. If Tsu'tey is with you already, tell him that I need help. I need _something_—a sign, a suggestion, _something_ that will give me an idea of how to lead The People. I don't know what I'm doing! I haven't grown up with this clan, I don't know the revered traditions...Why would he choose me? Yeah, great, I ride a Toruk…But I'm not fit for this. I meant what I said when I told him that I'm not officer material. There was a reason that I was a soldier—I can follow orders. I just can't make them...And how can I enforce them? I'm just a tawtute, and they'll know that. They might respect me for a short period of time...But how long will that last, really? Soon there will be a tough decision to make, and I'm sure that when I make the wrong choice, The People will turn against me. They'll kick me out, just like before...How can I be expected to lead The People, especially in a time like this? With everything in ruins, and no place to live? We cannot stay at the Great Tree forever…We'll have to find a new Hometree—_

Jake's thoughts are interrupted when he feels a hand on his shoulder. He turns around, expecting to see Neytiri, but instead sees Mo'at. She nods her head to the right, signaling him to look out amongst The People. _His_ People, he reminds himself with a touch a excitement but also fear. _His_ People all have their heads bowed, their queues connected to Eywa, and their mouths moving silently, praying—just like him. At first Jake thought that they were simply praying for Tsu'tey's safe passage to Eywa—it wouldn't be a surprise, since he was well known and liked amongst the clan. But when he looks closer, Jake notices a few people mouthing his name.

Alarmed, he looks to Mo'at, thinking that they're taking back their support, wishing Tsu'tey was olo'eyktan, instead of some tawtute skxawng. Jake doesn't blame them. He wouldn't want to follow someone like him, especially in times like these. But Mo'at simply smiles and motions for him to look at them again.

Then Jake realized what was happening: The People were praying to Ewya—for him. For their olo'eyktan. Jake was suddenly overcome with a sense of peace—a feeling that _finally_, after so long, things might go back to normal. Jake felt hope—Quaritch was dead, the Sky People had been flown home, and he was still part of The People. He knew that after all this hardship, things had to work out. _Somehow_, he thought, smiling and glancing at Neytiri's retreating form, _this will all work out._

He'd gotten his legs back, and so much more.

Translations:

_Oel Ngati Kameie: _I See you

_Pongu zong?: _Are The People safe?

_Ayfo zong: _They are safe

_Ttawtute kea nì'ul:_ Literally "the Sky People are no more." In this context, it means "the Sky People have left"

_Txoa oe, tsmukan. Kä set ne Eywa._: Forgive me, brother. Go now to the Mother Spirit.*

*This can also be translated as _Txoa oe, tsmukan. Kä set ne sa'nok tirea, _but it has the same meaning as the translation in the text.


	6. Chapter 6: Tsu'tey

Chapter 6: Tsu'tey

_ Author's Note:_ _So I spent a lot of time trying to get a close-up image of the Tree of Souls and the area around it, and I got nothing. Therefore, since I couldn't find any concrete information about the surrounding area, I kept it kind of vague while I wrote this. (Sorry!) Also, the "fight" that I refer to at the end comes from the script, when Tsu'tey challenges Jake to a duel since he slept with Neytiri. Sorry I took so long to update! I've got AP study sessions for the next month or so :(_

The People mourned heavily for their fallen olo'eyktan in the days following his death. Besides Neytiri and Mo'at, none of The People had contact with Tsu'tey's body—but they kept busy in other ways. Most of the clan spent their time near the Great Tree, caring for the wounded or praying to Eywa. Neytiri and Mo'at all worked to help ready Tsu'tey's body for burial, while Jake worked with the clan to help find survivors.

Jake made sure that Ri'uke and Yetrol were tracked down and told of the news as soon as possible. The two were devastated by the loss of their mentor, but they didn't let it stop them from helping others. They immediately decided to go back out into the forest and search for survivors—much to Jake's displeasure. He was already feeling guilty for not letting the two warriors say goodbye to their old mentor, and he didn't want to be responsible for their safety on top of that—there could still be Sky People out there. _Of course,_ Jake thought anxiously, _I'm olo'eyktan now…So _everyone's_ my responsibility._ Jake felt that they should at least have their grieving time before heading back out to work.

The two, of course, disagreed with him, saying that they should help the clan—and there were still many people missing. Jake couldn't argue with that so he let the two go. They might need their own time to grieve anyway, and they might not want to do it so openly.

Though the Na'vi were a very interconnected people, Jake knew that there were a few that wanted his or her own privacy. There were always outliers, even in a society as joined as this.

As Jake worked to help the rest of the clan, Neytiri and Mo'at began preparing Tsu'tey body for burial. They had decided to bury Tsu'tey near the Tree of Souls, since they were unable to locate a new Hometree in such short notice.

The two picked out a spot on the outer edge of the inner ring of stone arches, in front of a large tree, a respectful distance away form the Na'vi's most sacred place. As Mo'at finished preparing Tsu'tey's body for burial, Neytiri went to inform The People. Since she would again be Tsahik once her mother passed on the title, Neytiri would be taking on more and more of the everyday duties of the clan's spiritual leader.

As The People assembled for the funeral, Jake stood off to the side. Though he was olo'eyktan now, he wasn't a full Na'vi yet. He was still trapped within his old body—he was still a _unilitìranyu_, a dreamwalker.

While Neytiri and Mo'at recited the funeral rites and made sure Tsu'tey's spirit was off to Eywa, Jake was paying not only very close attention to the funeral proceedings, but also how The People acted. If he was going to be olo'eyktan, he needed to know how things would be run and how to conduct himself.

Once Mo'at and Neytiri finished the rites, the singers came in and sang lamentations as the Tsahik and her daughter gently sprinkled a fine layer of dirt over Tsu'tey's now empty body. The _atokirina'_ that had just been placed there floated gently while the soil continued to rain down. The songs continued until all of the soil had been replaced and the funeral rites had been finished.

Though Jake wasn't fully versed in Na'vi, he was still able to pick a up a few of the funeral rites and understand them. The only ones that he knew went along the lines of "take this worthy spirit back into your arms, All Mother, and protect him." But past those few basic phrases, Jake was lost.

Coming back to his senses, Jake realized that Neytiri was looking expectantly up at him, as if waiting for him to say something. Jake just looked her blankly; what the hell was he supposed to say? He doubted that any of them would be able to understand him anyway.

"Go, Jake," Neytiri hissed quietly. "Say something."

"Uh," Jake began. _Not a great start…_"Well you all knew Tsu'tey, and you knew him better than me. But," Jake had collected his thoughts now and knew what he needed to say, "I had the privilege to train with him, to fight with him…and to win with him. Tsu'tey was the greatest warrior of our generation—and we all know that he will be missed. But we will keep Tsu'tey's memory alive within our hearts, within Eywa, and within the mind of The People. Tsu'tey was willing to risk everything, just like all of you, to make life better for his People—he gave us this chance, and we should celebrate what he has given us. It will be hard to rebuild and repopulate, but we can do it. We owe it to Eywa, to ourselves, and to all of The People, especially our fallen brothers and sisters, who risked all they had for us."

Jake stepped back towards his space at the edge, the the funeral came to its closing ceremonies—the lamentations ended and The People began to slowly celebrate Tsu'tey's noble memory instead of grieving it.

"Jakesully, I must speak with you," Mo'at appeared at his shoulder, speaking quietly into his ear.

It was many hours past dusk, and Jake had been listening to hundreds of stories about Tsu'tey—as a baby, a boy, a teenage, and finally a man and a warrior. Jake had really enjoyed learning more about The People, especially their customs. Many of the Na'vi traditions were brought up because of Jake's incessant questions, but the other warriors didn't seem to mind. His cluelessness seemed to amuse them instead of corcern them.

_Shouldn't they be worrid that their olo'eyktan knows _nothing? Jake thought to himself. When his questions got in the way of the storytelling, Neytiri finally had to clamp her hand over her mate's mouth to shut him up. He had retaliated by licking her hand, making her jerk her hand away and slap his arm, muttering that he was such a "skxawng." Mo'at had been helping the grieving family, and Jake hadn't had a chance to talk to her all night, so was happy for a chance to consult with her.

"Okay, I'm coming," he said to her, before turning back to the group of warriors. "I'll talk to you guys later. Thanks for telling me about Tsu'tey." He then turned and kissed Neytiri's cheek and whispered, "Be back soon," before getting up and following Mo'at towards a more secluded area of at the Well of Souls.

"What did you want to tell me?" Jake asked when they stopped walking.

"Jakesully..." Mo'at said slowly, choosing her words. "You are olo'eyktan now—you will lead The People. Knowing the tawtute as you do, there is some information that I seek. We must rebuild—we must find a new _Kelutrel_ to live in. Our new home needs to be far away from the tawtutes that are left. Will you be able to go and search for a new _kelku_ tomorrow? We cannot stay here for much longer—the Tree is a sacred place," Mo'at finished, echoing Jake's earlier thoughts.

"Of course. I'll get a scouting party rounded up tonight and send them out at dawn," Jake promised.

"Good. Now—our people have come across many tawtute bodies in the forest while they were searching for survivors. What are we to do with them?" Mo'at was oddly uncertain—she was normally so sure of her decisions.

"I can check in with some of the scientists at the compound, and tell them what we found. They should know what to do with them."

Mo'at eyed him before speaking again, this time a bit softer.

"Jakesully, there is another matter that I must speak with you about." Jake raised his eyebrows, waiting for her to continue. "…It is about your tawtute body." Jake relaxed, worried that there had been something wrong with the clan or Neytiri that he didn't know about.

"What about it?"

"You must choose. You cannot live your life this way, stuck between two bodies. You must decide if—"

"This one," Jake answered immediately, not even waiting for her to finish. "That other body…there is nothing left there for me there. My life is here, my people are here…" he trailed off quietly. Mo'at nodded and placed a hand on his shoulder in understanding.

"_Sìltsan. _We will need to make preparations for the ceremony, but I would be right in saying that you will not need to keep shifting between bodies within one week. That should give the scouts enough time to find a new _Kelutrel_, no?"

"Of course! That will be perfect," Jake replied, obviously elated over being able to finally be in his real body. He didn't even want to think about having to go back to his human one when he fell asleep tonight. When a loud burst of laughter broke through the air, Mo'at smiled too and decided to have them head back to the gathering.

Jake looked around for Neytiri, but couldn't find her anywhere. As he was about to ask one of his fellow warriors if he'd seen her anywhere, Jake spotted her walking slowly back from the woods. He walked over to her and was about to ask her where she'd been but she just silently looked up at him with a sorrowful look on her face and led him into the woods.

Jake knew he shouldn't say anything, but when they arrived at Tsu'tey's gravesite, he realized what she had been doing and he had to ask: "Neytiri, are you—?"

"_Lu fnu. _Connect to the roots, and think—you do not need to speak. I know you feel guilty, I can tell. Just show Ewya what you are worried about—she will help you, and Tsu'tey's spirit will guide you," she said as she maneuvered his body to the side of the tree.

"Look, I—" Jake began, only to be cut off again.

"Jake," Neytiri growled, exasperated, "Just _think_. Say what you need to say, and show Tsu'tey what you've wanted to tell him." Jake sighed, giving up, and bent down to connect his queue to the roots of the tree behind Tsu'tey's grave. Neytiri walked a few paces into the tree line to give him some privacy with his thoughts. Jake took a deep breath and began.

_Kaltxì, tsmukan, _Jake began, unsure of what to think and how to express what he wanted to get across. He wasn't even sure if Tsu'tey was listening. Of course, he knew that Eywa was out there…But how could be sure that it was Tsu'tey who was getting his message and not some random deceased Na'vi?

Just as Jake was thinking this he heard a quite little laugh—oddly familiar to Tsu'tey's laugh. Jake was shocked and unsure—was he just imagining that or was it real? He looked around, making sure that there wasn't anyone playing a trick on him…

_Well, okay, I guess you've proved your point,_ Jake thought, smiling a bit. _Tsu'tey, if it's actually _you_ listening to this, I want you to know that I'm sorry. I don't…You know that I didn't—I'm just _sorry._ I know that Neytiri was promised to you and I'm sorry that I got in between that. _

_But I want you to know that I _do _love her. And I'll do my best to take care of her and take care of The People. I hope that sometime you can forgive me, and, if possible, let me know._ Jake paused for a minute, gathering his thoughts. As he pondered what to say, his mind kept flashing from images of Hometree falling and the fighting during the war. _I know it's my fault…And I know that you can't ever forgive me for endangering your home and your people like that…But I wish that you could see now that I'm dedicated. I'm not going to leave The People and I'm not going to leave Pandora. _

_I'm here for good—I hope that's okay—and I hope I can make things better. I just want everything to go back to the way it was before…Before everything went all wrong…Before I ruined everything._

_ I'm sorry, _Jake stopped for a minute, trying to reign in his emotions,_ it was my fault you died. I'll never forgive myself for being the one who brought about your death. I know you might not have seen it that way—but that's how it felt to me. I'm so sorry, tsmukan, for what I did to you and to The People. I'm going to try to reverse as much of the damage that I caused as possible—and I could always use some guidance._

Jake looked up hopefully, but there were no signs in the night. He didn't really expect much, anyway. Jake prepared to disconnect his bond, but he had one more thing to say first. _By the way, _Jake continued, _you were always better at fighting than me—and I'm sure you would've beaten me even if I hadn't been pulled out of the link. _

Jake once again heard that quiet chuckle, but he still couldn't be sure if it was real or a figment of his imagination.

Translations:

_atokirina': _Seed of the Tree of Souls, used during funerals

_skxawng: _moron

_tawtute:_ Sky People

_Kelutrel:_ Hometree

_Kelku:_ home

_Sìltsan: _good

_Lu fnu:_ be quiet

_Kaltxì, tsmukan: _Hello, brother

**_READ AND REVIEW!_**


	7. Chapter 7: Human Once More

**Chapter 7: Human Once More**

"Hey, Jake," Max said tiredly from a few feet away, lounging comically in Parker's old desk chair in the middle of the link room.

"What're you still doing here? It's way past midnight…" Jake asked curiously, tiredly lifting his atrophied legs out of the link. The room was pitch dark except for the glowing control panel from the link he'd just exited. Max was about to answer, but his voice was lost in a large yawn.

"Sorry," he said, covering his mouth and rubbing his beard.

"Wait—you didn't stay here all night did you? You _really_ didn't have to do that. I was fine—and there aren't any assholes here to pull me out," Jake smiled, rolling his wheelchair towards the drained Max.

"Oh, no, it was no problem. I don't really have anything to do right now—at least not anything I _want_ to do. Cleanup's going to be a bitch, though…"

"Yeah, I know," Jake said, chuckling. "Oh, speaking of that—Mo'at wanted me to talk to you guys about something. She says that The People have been coming across a lot of human bodies, and they don't know what to do with them. I said I'd ask you first," Jake said, looking pointedly at him.

"Oh, perfect. We actually got a message a few hours ago from the ISV requesting that the rest of their dead comrades be sent back with them. They've got a lot of space on the _Star_, so I don't think it'll be a problem. They're going to have to figure out how to store them, though…We don't have any cremators or boxes here for the bodies."

"Wait, they never left?" Jake asks, outraged.

"Well, they did, but not fully. The shuttle isn't flying, but they're still in orbit. They say that they won't leave Alpha Centauri before they get all their men back, dead or alive."

"Jesus. They really don't want to leave," Jake sighs, just wanting this to be over. The two went along in companionable silence for a few minutes, heading towards to bunkrooms, before Max glanced at Jake and asked the question on his mind.

"Hey, um, Jake…" Max started, only to trail off, unsure of how to ask the question.

"Yeah, what's up?" The other man looked up at him, a quizzical expression on his face.

"Uh, I was wondering—your people are going to help get all the bodies right?" Jake nods. "Okay, well, you know—we can have some of the Avatar drivers deal with Quartich if you want," Max finished quietly, looking at Jake. Jake didn't answer right away, so Max continued on. "Well, all I mean is, I saw him by the mobile link bay in the forest, with those arrows in his chest…I'm guessing one of you killed him?"

"Oh, yeah," Jake spoke up. "That was all Neytiri," he said with a smile.

"Tell her nice shot for me," Max said, grinning back. "But anyway—we can get rid of him if you don't want to deal with it right now. I mean, it's new for all of us, but because of everything that's happening, I didn't think you'd want to deal with him on top of everything else…"

Jake thought about it for a minute as they continued down the corridor. He _really_ didn't want to be the one to be around Quartich, dead _or_ alive…But he also didn't want to dump the burden on anyone else

"It's okay. I think I can manage."

"All right."

"Oh—I meant to mention this before—do you know if we can get all this debris out of here? I mean, there's just tons of wreckage spread all over the forest, and it's of no use to us. It would just sit there, so if we can send it out on the ISV with the bodies, that'd be great," Jake said, hoping for a positive answer.

"Ha, yeah. They owe us at _least_ that after everything that's happened. They should be able to pick up their own damn messes," Max said, anger coloring his tone. Jake was surprised; he hadn't spent too much time with Max, but he never thought he was that attached to the planet. He'd known that Max had lived here for many years before he'd come, but he'd always thought he was more of a scientist than an environmentalist. _Just shows you that people aren't always what you think they are, _Jake said, realizing that that phrase could be transferred to most of his current comrades here, even himself.

"So I heard you took a slash cutter to the OPS center, man. Nice job," Jake said appreciatively, smirking up at the older scientist. "I bet Parker just about shitted himself when you took it down," he added, laughing.

"Oh, yeah. It was nice to get some of that anger out—and to see his scrawny ass surrendering."

"Awesome," Jake said, bumping fists with Max.

"So how're The People holding up?" Max asked, changing the subject.

"All right, I guess. We still have a lot of injuries and plenty of warriors to bury…" Jake trailed off, and Max nodded, giving him some space.

"So—'' Max began, trying to change the subject.

"Tsu'tey asked me to kill him," Jake interrupted quietly, stopping in the hall. Max looked at him in surprise, too shocked to say anything. "I did it. Max, I killed him. He was just—just lying there, telling me I had to free his spirit," Jake continued, putting his face in his hands. "Some asshole cut his queue, knowing what it would do to him…Without it, he can't fly his banshee, ride a direhore, be with a woman, or speak to Eywa. He—he saw himself as useless, and the pain was so bad that he _wanted_ to die. He named me leader and had me kill him, Max…And I did it," Jake finished, more distraught than before. Max was silent for a moment before speaking again.

"Jake, I know you feel guilty for being the one to end his life—but I don't think he, or any other Na'vi, saw it that way. That's how they see things, and it makes sense. Without his queue, he wouldn't have been able to serve The People; at least, not as well as before. Jake," Max said, laying a hand on his shoulder, "you can't blame yourself for this—he wanted you to do it, and you simply followed orders. He'll be with Eywa now, anyway, right?"

Jake nodded, reassured a bit more. They walked on for a few more yards before Jake spoke up again.

"So how's Norm? You said his Avatar was shot—will it be okay? Is _he _okay?"

"Well, Norm is fine. Injuries to the Avatar don't translate _physically_ to the other body," Max stopped when Jake looked confused.

"What do you mean, physically?"

"For instance, in Norm's case, he got shot multiple times in the shoulder—he _felt _himself get shot as an Avatar. But when he came back as a human, there weren't any bullet holes—he was never shot in his human body. To him, it psychologically feels the same, as if he had been shot in both bodies."

"So, it's kind of like a phantom pain, then?" Jake asks slowly, he'd known that a lot of vets suffered from those if they couldn't get a replacement.

"Yeah, but just without the loss of a limb. Once he's back in his Avatar, I think he'll be able to reconcile himself and everything will be back to normal—I hope, at least."

"Is he here? Cause I wanted to talk to him—"

"He's asleep in your guys' old room," Max says, yawning again. "And I think we should both follow his example. It's been one _really_ long day for all of us. We can deal with the rest in the morning." Jake nods, turning towards his old bunkroom, just a few doors down.

"And Jake," Max calls before he walks away. Jake looks back. "I'm sure The People will be safe, okay? So don't worry."

"Yeah, thanks, man. See you tomorrow."

"Night."

Opening the door, Jake's ears were immediately assaulted by the deafening sounds of Norm's snoring. _Shit, I'd forgotten how loud he was_, Jake thought, groaning internally. He _could_ move to another room—most of the other ones were empty anyway, save for a few scientists and drivers—but this felt oddly welcoming.

As Jake hauled himself up into his bunk, he heard something crumple in his pocket. After settling himself down, Jake retrieved whatever was stuck there from his last link. Opening it and holding it in front of his face, Jake realized with a grin what it was—one of the photos from Grace's school, before it was raided.

He'd taken it after he'd gotten out of the link one day—Neytiri been helping him aim his bow, and her demeanor had been so different. Her hands were gentler, and her touches were lighter—her face had been so close to his…

He smiled, thinking back to those perfect first three months—before everything went so wrong. Not that he would have admitted it to anyone, but Jake was pretty sure that it was around that time that he'd really fallen for her. They had gotten so close while he was teaching her, it was almost inevitable. And passing his final hunter's trials didn't sway their feelings for each other—if anything, it had made them stronger. Jake was pretty sure that Grace had noticed that something was missing—but she'd never mentioned the picture. Grace had known for a while how he felt about her.

"Oh, hey, you're back," Norm said with a yawn for across the room. Absorbed in his thoughts, Jake hadn't even realized that Norm's thundering snores had stopped.

"Yeah, I just got in a little while ago," Jake answered, trying quickly to stash the photo he'd been looking at—but it was too late.

"Don't think we don't know about that," Norm said with a grin from across the room.

"What?" Jake said innocently, desperately hoping Norm would drop the subject.

"That picture. I actually _saw_ you take it," he said with a smile, looking across the room. "But Grace and Trudy knew too."

"Great," Jake groans, looking at the ceiling above him. _Let the humiliation begin_.

"Oh, no, I think it's cute," Norm says truthfully, shifting his body so he's propped up on pillows. "I mean, you weren't too secretive about it…But what I don't get it is, why did you take it anyway? I mean, you saw her everyday, right? And you were mostly asleep when you were around us, so why did you need it?"

Jake was silent for a moment—why _did_ he take it? It was just an impulse decision at the time, but as he got more attached to his life out there, it was comforting to have reassurance that the Na'vi world—The People and Neytiri—were real.

"I guess I just…needed some tangible evidence," Jake said slowly. "I mean, everything that went on out there seemed so surreal—I think I just needed proof that everything that happened while I was in the link actually _did_ happen—that it wasn't all a dream."

"Hm, that makes sense," Norm said thoughtfully. "How is she anyway? Are The People okay?"

Jake didn't speak for a moment—he didn't really want to go through everything that had happened with Tsu'tey again, since it was all still so fresh. It had been good to get it all off of his chest to a non-Na'vi, but he didn't need to do it again. Besides, Jake was sure that Max would tell Norm what had happened soon enough. Jake chose his words carefully before speaking again.

"They're fine—safe at least. Mo'at wants to start searching for a new Hometree soon, but I don't really know where to look. The area around the last one is damaged for hundreds of yards…"

"Yeah, that might be hard. But I'm sure you'll find one—there are plenty of tree of the same size, and they can't _all_ be inhabited."

"Yeah, true. We've gotta check on all the other clans, also, I guess. Make sure everyone is doing all right…Plus, Mo'at says I'll be ready in a few days to pass through the Eye of Eywa."

"That's great," Norm says sincerely. "And Neytiri?"

"Oh, she's good. She's been getting a lot of practice being Tsahik; she's back to training again with Mo'at. Everyone's been really busy dealing with all the injuries and planning for the future, so we haven't had much time to talk or anything…" Jake trails off, trying not to bring up Tsu'tey.

"Well, good thing you've got the picture, then," Norm says with a yawn.

"Ha, yeah," Jake responds, his thoughts drifting. By the time he comes back to his senses, Norm's asleep again. _Damn,_ Jake thinks, _I should've asked him about his Avatar._ _But I guess it can wait till morning._

"Hey, Jake, wake _up_," Norm yells the last word right in his ear.

"Hey! What the hell?" Jake jumps up, rubbing his deafened ear.

"Oh, don't be a baby. Plus, I thought you'd want to get going. It's already five."

"_Shit_. I told Mo'at I'd be ready at dawn," Jake says as he scrambles to get up and into his chair.

"Well, you better get going—I'll have Max start up the link for you."

"Thanks, I'll be out in a second," Jake says, hurrying up to get ready before wheeling himself out the door.

Following a few yards behind Norm down to corridor, Jake reaches the link room to find it still mostly empty. He looks around, expecting to see at least _one_ other link pod being used—but they're all vacant.

"Where is everyone?" Jake asks, wheeling up to his link pod. Norm looks at him curiously before answering.

"Jake, it's five o'clock in the morning. No sane person gets up at five—unless they've got a girl to get to," he adds with a smirk. Jake just rolls his eyes and climbs in.

"_Right_," he says, happy now that no one is around. "I'm going in. I'll check in with you guys later on. See ya."

"Bye," Max calls from his computer.

"Say hi to everyone for us," Norm adds as the lid closes.

This is weird...No translations... ;)

**REVIEW PLEASE!!!!**

**PS: Sorry in advance--I've got AP tests this week, so I won't have time to write D: Once they're over, though, I think I'll be able to update soon. Thanks for sticking with me :)**


	8. Chapter 8: Titles

Chapter 8: Titles

Authors note: I am **SO SORRY** about updating so late...It's been like over two weeks. I really wanted to continues this chapter, but I don't have too much time to write today, and I thought I'd just post most of what I have. Sorry it kind of cuts off at the end and I'll try not to update to late again!

"Ugh," Jake groans, shifting off of the tree root he'd fallen asleep on. _Damn, that hurts_, he thought, gently rubbing his left side. Neytiri began to stir beside him, so he decided it was time to start the real day—time to start hunting for a new home anyway. Sleeping on the hard rock last night was _not_ a good idea, Jake chastised himself as he got to his feet and stretched, yawning. At least it gave him more incentive to find a new kelku.

"Morning," Jake said, turning towards Neytiri, who had an equally uncomfortable look on her face after last night's rest.

"Good…morning," she said slowly, remembering a few tawtute phrases. Jake nodded and smiled, before moving closer and kissing her on the lips. She kissed him back for a moment before pulling away, placing her hand on his shoulder.

"Don't you have somewhere to be, olo'eyktan?" She asked with a smile, hinting towards the coming dawn.

"Oh, don't call me that," Jake grimaced, looking away.

"What? It is your title. Or would you prefer Toruk Macto?"

"Oh, okay, now that's even worse," Jake said, chuckling.

"Why? You should be proud. I am," she smiled at him. Jake smiled back prior to explaining.

"Because…it's strange. You never called me any of those names before—"

"That's because you weren't Toruk Macto or olo'eyktan before," Neytiri said. "You were Jake. My Jake," she finished possessively, pulling him a bit closer in spite of herself.

"Exactly," he agreed, his hands circling her waist. "And I'm still that person, just with some new accessories," he chuckled, and Neytiri joined in. She had such a pretty laugh, it was always nice to hear it—especially now that things were going back to normal.

"Speaking of which, I need to get my ikran back…I can't be riding Toruk everywhere…And besides, it'll give me one less name for you to tease me about," he finished with a wink.

"Fine. I shall call you Jake, then."

"Oh, really? Just Jake? Not _your_ Jake?" he asked, smiling.

"Skxawng," she muttered, elbowing his side.

"Aw, but you love me anyway," he joked, kissing her one last time before heading out to wake the scouting party he'd set up last night.

"Eywa ngahu," Neytiri called after him, watching him turn around and repeat the expression back to her. _Eywa be with you._

"Okay, so break off into pairs and search the area. I've got to head to the tawtute base and deal with the issues there, so everyone meet back here in a few hours if you find a good space for our new kelku; I should be back in a couple of hours' time, and we can go and have a look."

The party nodded their assent and took off to their ikrans, eager to find a new home for their people. Jake looked after them for a moment before turning back towards the Great Tree and searching out Mo'at. He spotted her on the far side of the Tree, along with Neytiri. He had wanted to talk to her before he left for Hell's Gate, but they were tending to those who were still gravely injured.

Deciding this conversation, and the trip to the compound, could wait for the time being, Jake called for his ikran and took off to the Mountains. As he approached the rookery, he started to get nervous. What if he couldn't find the right Toruk? They all looked pretty much the same—gigantic and brightly colored…

But his fears fell away once he reached higher skies. It was surprisingly easy to find his Toruk; the Leonopteyrx was easy to spot—it might've been because of tsaheylu, but once Jake saw him, he knew that was his Toruk. Since the great winged beast was simply drifting through the skies, Jake decided to land his ikran and then call out to the Leonopteyrx —Jake felt kind of bad pulling a sneak attack on him again.

After landing his ikran, Jake walked a good ways away before signaling to his Toruk to settle nearby. Once it did so, Jake bonded with him, showing him through his thoughts and feelings that the bad times were over—and it was time for Jake to release him back into the wild. Sensing that they were parting soon, the Toruk began to pull away, but Jake stopped him one last time. Through the bond, Jake sent him an image of himself on his ikran—being sure to emphasize the fact that he was on it, and not to attack. Hoping the Leonopteyrx understood, Jake let him fly back off into the skies.

As he departed on his banshee, Jake heard the loud screams of a mighty Toruk claiming a smaller banshee. Jake smiled, if only to reassure himself that it wouldn't be him next time.

Back at the Tree of Souls, Neytiri had just finished tending to the last of the injuries before she headed off into the nearby forest. Following a small creek, she walked beside it until the flowing water opened up further into a wider, slower-moving river. Stepping into the cool waters, she began washing the blood and plant extracts off of her hands and forearms.

Bending down to get some of the stray stains off of her legs, Neytiri is momentarily blinded as a hand covers up her vision from behind and a soft voice whispers in her ear, "Should I start calling you Tsahik, then?"

"I'm not Tsahik, yet," she laughs, leaning back into him.

"Well, you will be soon, right?" Jake asks, removing his hand from her eyes and kissing the top of her head. Turning around to face him, Neytiri looks up at him with a serious expression on her face.

"I—I don't know," she answers rather uncertainly, looking worriedly at him. Jake promptly wipes the teasing manner from his actions, his face becoming serious. "Ma sa'nok has been giving me more responsibilities…But I don't think I'm ready for this. I can hunt, I can fly, I can fight…But I don't know if I can be responsible for interpreting the will of Eywa; especially for the entire clan…

"I never—" she broke off, lowering her voice to a quiet whisper. "I never asked for this," she confessed, looking into his eyes. "I'd be a better at being a warrior than being Tsahik…But the responsibility is passed down from mother to daughter—I can't reject it. I know it sounds disrespectful, but I felt…relief when ma sa'nok said my training would have been for nothing after I told her we were mated. Then, at least, I could've led a more normal life…I don't think I can do it, Jake. Ma sa'nok is so close with Eywa and the spiritual world…I don't think that I'll be able to do as well as her…" Neyitri trails off, looking down.

"Hey, hey, hey," He says softly, pulling her chin upwards so he can look in her eyes. "It's okay. I mean, look at me—I didn't choose this either, and I sure as hell couldn't turn it down, but I'm making it work. I'm not going to be a great chieftain, or even a satisfactory one at that," Neytiri tried to stop him from berating himself but he put a finger to her lips, signaling he wasn't done yet, "But that doesn't mean that I can't try. I won't be as successful at leading The People as your father or Tsu'tey, but I can work with what I've got. If I—someone who barely knows the language and customs—can lead The People, then you can definitely take care of the spiritual side of things. You've lived alongside Eywa your whole life, Neytiri—you can do this. You just need to try—that's all that anyone is expecting. Just try, okay?"

Neytiri nods, hugging her mate closer. "Thank you, Jake," she murmurs into his shoulder.

"Anytime," he says quietly. They stand there for a moment, just enjoying the comfort and closeness of each other. After a few minutes, Neytiri regains her composure and pulls away a bit, looking up at him.

"So what did you do last night?"

"Hm? Oh, I," he clears his throat, looking away, "I just talked a bit with Max and Norm," Jake finishes, still not looking at her. Just like he knew she would, Neytiri suspects something is up, and interrogates him about it.

"What did you talk about?" Neytiri asks, a suspicious glint in her eye. She knew she'd found something interesting when he still wouldn't make eye contact and the bioluminescent specks on Jake's face lit up—he was embarrassed. "Jake?"

"It was nothing. Don't worry about it," Jake responds, brushing it off.

"Jake—tell me."

He sighs, looking up to the sky and then back down again.

"Okay, fine. I have… a picture of you, one that I kept with me while in my tawtute body. Norm saw it and—it was just a picture, one that Grace took at her school," Jake admits, still looking away. Neytiri gives him a quizzical look, not understanding his embarrassment. He sighs and tried to explain.

"Grace…She had a bunch of pictures that she took around the old school, hanging up in the trailer. I—One day, I just took one," he continues, his eyes downcast, "It was of you."

"Why did you take it?"

"I don't know. I think because I just couldn't trust myself to believe that all this was real. I needed some proof that _you_ were real, that I wasn't actually dreaming. It was…too good to be true," he pauses, gathering up some courage. "I…I loved you, Neytiri. Even back then, while I was still training for _Iknimaya_," Jake finishes, completely humiliated now, and looking anywhere but at his mate. She smiles, happy that he has finally admitted it.

"I think that is true for me as well, my Jake."

"Really?" Jake asks, completely surprised. He knew now how she felt about him, but he didn't think that she had cared for him for this long. Neytiri nods, her smile widening as she leans up and kisses him on the mouth. He tilts towards her, taking her face in his hands and deepening the kiss. Neytiri moans faintly, drawing him closer to her before pulling away a bit and placing her hand on his chest.

"Jake," she says softly, looking up into his eyes, which are now brightened by the heat of the kiss, "Don't be embarrassed."

"Right," Jake laughs, looking away, trying to calm down from their kiss and her reaction.

"_Kehe_. You don't need to hide anything from me."

"Okay…fine. But I wasn't hiding this," he says truthfully, stroking her arm, "It just never came up."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I would have told you if you had asked or mentioned it, but since there was no way that you would have known, there was no reason to talk about it. Plus it's not the smartest idea on my part."

"We all do silly things for love, Jake," she says smiling, "For instance, I mated with a skxawng uniltìranyu..."

"Hey!" Jake says, pulling back in mock outrage. "That was uncalled for."

"Maybe so," Neytiri says slowly with a smirk, "But it was funny. And true," she adds caressing his cheek with her hand.

"Hm," Jake grunts. "I am _obviously_ underappreciated within this relationship, so I'll be on my way…" He says, pretending to turn away.

"You know I love you, my Jake," Neyitri says, her hand hovering over his cheek, and a serious expression on her face.

"I know," he agrees, and then pauses, smirking, but not saying anything. Neytiri looks at him accusingly; silently vowing not to be the first to speak. They stare at each other for a few hard-faced minutes before finally giving in and chuckling at their own absurdity.

Kissing her chastely, Jake returns her words. "I love you too."

A few hours later, Jake and Neyitri arrive at Hell's Gate, ready to clear up some of the problems left over from the battle. Earlier in the day, the two had organized all of the clan members, as well many volunteers from neighboring clans, to head out and collect the debris left over from the battle. As they headed into Hell's Gate's facilities, Jake and Neytiri met up with Max to discuss how to proceed.

"Hey, guys!" Max calls, waving distractedly from inside.

"Hey," Jake said back, grabbing exopacks from himself and his mate before entering the building.

"Okay, so," Jake begins as he steps inside, adjusting his mask, "We got most of the metal into two main piles, right on top of where the Dragon Ship and the Shuttle fell—we thought it'd be easier to locate them…" Jake trailed off, noticing that Max hadn't even looked up since they'd walked in.

"Good idea," Max said slowly, still staring at the monitor.

"What are you doing?"

"Oh—it's just—I'm getting weird transmissions from their ISV up there…They're badly scrambled, and I don't have any idea what they might even contain, let alone who they're from…" Max says as he continues typing, missing the look shared between Neytiri and Jake.

"Why would they be sending you corrupted messages?" Jake asks, still confused.

"Well that's the problem. I mean, its not like they're hiding something form us, or trying to get back down here—and even if they are, they are in _no _shape to kick us around anymore…And besides that, there isn't really any other reason, unless they're harboring some hostage on board who's trying to contact us. And even then, we can narrow it down to a very small pool suspects—it wouldn't be any Na'vi, unless they were expertly trained in computer science. Most of the humans here wouldn't even be able to code a message like this…I mean, _I _can't even figure out where it's being transmitted from…" Max trails off.

"Okay, well, that is weird," Jake says uncertainly, still glancing between Max and Neytiri, "But shouldn't we deal with some of the immediate problems here and leave the creepy messages for once they leave?"

"Yeah, you're right," Max agrees, finally looking up to the two Na'vi.

"So how are we gonna go about this? Do we have any ships left that can transport all this?"

"Hm…" Max thinks on it for a moment before checking the aircraft log on the computer. "Okay, we have about five intact Samsons, and two Scorpions left. The Samsons would be best to use; they can fit some cargo. For the Scorpions, though, I might see if we can get some kind of net to hold all the metal together, and then attach it to the ships? I doubt they'd be able to fit too much in their cargo space."

"Great, then. There's a shitload of debris, but I think with a couple trips your guys should be able to pick it all up. Is the shuttle coming back down? To pick up everything?"

"Not until they get their bodies," Max sighs.

"Damn, I forgot about that," Jake says, internally cursing his bad memory. "We really should start scouting around, then. Would you be able to send some Avatars out later, once all the debris is cleared? It'll help us out to have more hands on deck, since we've got to search throughout the Mountains, and everything below."

"That'll be fine, let me call in the ships first and I'll message the Avatars in a couple hours, once everything is cleared up," Max says, reaching for a transmitter. "Oh, by the way," he says with his hand over the mouthpiece, "Norm was looking for you—he should be in the lab."

"Thanks," Jake mouths as he and Neytiri turn away from the scientist, heading towards the door.

A/N: I'm a sucker for fluffy scenes, sorry. ;)


	9. Chapter 9: Logs Part 1

**CHAPTER 9: Logs (Part 1: Neytiri's POV)**

_Author's Note:I'__m so sorry that it took forever for me to update! It's took me a while to get back into the writing mindset, but I finished this one for now. __Also, keep in mind that the battle between the Na'vi and the RDA takes place on August 22__nd__._

Norm is sitting alongside a few other lab technicians, all bent over their microscopes, completely oblivious to the pair who just walked in. Neytiri looks to Jake, who shrugs his shoulders, and then clears his throat, trying to get the anthropologist's attention. When Norm doesn't move, Jake sighs and walks up behind him, bending forward.

"Hey," Jake says, his head right next to Norm's ear.

"Woah!" Norm yells, jumping backwards, disturbing the quiet environment. The other two scientists glance up at the commotion, but quickly resume their studies. "What was that for? Jesus, you scared me," Norm says indignantly, righting the chair that fell over and fixing his slides.

"Well, Max said you were at the lab and wanted to talk to us, so here we are," Jake explains, still grinning.

"Oh, right. Kaltxì, Neytiri," Norm waves around Jake to the tall huntress.

"Kaltxì," Neytiri returns, impressed by his almost-perfect accent.

"Oh, sorry. Neytiri, this is Norm; I worked with him since I arrived here. So," Jake says, turning back to Norm, "where's your Avatar?"

"Here, I can show you," Norm says, leading the other two down the hall to the bio-lab. As they approach the room, Norm's Avatar could be see floating serenely in an amino tank, twitched every few minutes.

Having never seen an Avatar in one of their chambers, Neytiri moves to the side of the tank, looking towards the Avatar with great interest. As she continues to study it, Norm heads to the electronic panel of the tank, checking that his Avatar is recovering on schedule. Moving her face closer to the tank to study the Na'vi-like being, Neytiri flinches backwards as the Avatar's hand lashes out into the fluid.

"It's okay," Jake says, coming up behind her. "Norm has his uniltìranyu in here so that it can heal. His Avatar might have different reactions to The People's medicine, so we're just being careful. Believe it or not, _this _is the safest place for his body to heal," Jake finished, guessing all of her questions. Neytiri nodded, even though she know she wouldn't let her body heal in a place like this—so cold, wet, and confined…Neytiri shivered at the thought and Jake rubbed her arms in comfort. The two stood looking at Norms avatar until they were called away by Max's voice.

"Hey, Jake, Neytiri," Max said nodding to the couple as they turned towards him. "Jake, I was wondering if I could talk to you privately for a while?"

"Sure," Jake said, wondering what he wanted to talk about that was so sensitive. "I'll see you later," Jake says to Neytiri, squeezing her hand. She smiles quickly at him and then watches him walk off with Max before turning towards the lab techs to find Norm.

He was standing near the back racks, shelving different binders within their archives. Neytiri walks up towards him, a mischievous glint entering her eye. She may have not had the time to question Max, but she could ask Normspellman about Jake.

"So," she began slowly. "You've known my Jake for a while?"

"Yes," Norm answers, straightening up from his crouch near the bottom shelf. "I worked with him from the time he landed here. Not that I wanted to, at the time," Norm adds before remembering who he's talking to.

Neytiri, though, unoffended, looks up at him questioningly. She never knew that Jake and Norm had disagreements.

"Shit," he mutters. "Sorry, I didn't mean to say that," Norm says, glancing at Jake and Max's retreating forms in the far hallway.

"_Kehe_, it's all right. What were you saying?"

"Oh, it's just that we—Jake and I—weren't the best of friends when the mission started out. When you intercepted him in the jungle and brought him to the Omaticaya, my job was kind of pushed to the side—but it's okay," he backtracks quickly, noticing her contrite expression. After all, if she hadn't found him in the jungle, so many lives would be saved…But she would still be alone.

"I found great work to do," he continues, "And I'm more than happy that you ran into him in the forest," Norm finishes with a wink.

"Me too," Neytiri says softly with a small smile.

"So…What did he think of me?" Neytiri asks, feigning nonchalance. Though Norm sees through her pretend innocence, he tries his best to play along for her benefit.

"In the beginning, he was pretty ungrateful, to tell you the truth. You know how it was—he couldn't blend in as well, especially with your teaching techniques," Norm smiled at a confused Neytiri.

"He never mentioned anything to me…" She trails off, wondering.

Norm grinned. "That's probably because he wanted to look tough and manly in front of you—you know, to impress you that he wasn't just a 'dreamwalker.'" Neytiri smiled to herself at this.

"You think so?"

"Oh, of course. He talked about you all the time." _Ah, here we go, _Neytiri thought, coming closer to her objective. "The more he became entrenched in The People, the more he'd talk about you, just not always to _us_. But it makes sense, I guess, since you were a big part of his life then—"

"What do you mean?"

Norm glanced at her, a mocking look on his face. "Oh, come on, Neytiri. You're mated now, I'd think it would be obvious—"

"No, no, I mean about not talking to _you_ about it…What did you mean?"

Norm stares into her face for a moment before making up his mind.

"Look, don't tell Jake I showed you this, but…I think you should know," Norm says quietly, glancing to the door which Jake had departed through with Max. Neytiri looked at him questioningly, but nonetheless, followed him into one of the small offices in the back of the room.

Once they're both inside, Norm closes the door tightly, not that it'd allow much privacy in a glass-encased office—but it would have to do.

"Come over here," he says gesturing behind the desk. Neytiri, already bent over, moves behind the desk and settles herself in a crouch as Norm works. Norm quickly brings up all the public videolog archives, searching for one of Jake's. Once he found that, he traced the log back to Jake's account, which he then proceeded to hack into and searched for the more hidden files. Once he located a folder of them, he opened them all up, poised to play. Norm moved aside, motioning for Neytiri to take his spot in front of the computer.

"Okay, so Jake recorded videologs while living with the Omaticaya," Norm began. "Everyone did—me, Max, Grace—everyone. Anyway, all of our videologs are public, since they are used for observational and informative purposes about your Avatar, the plants and animals of Pandora, and the Na'vi. Because they are so public, those who record videos tend to be very cut off, less emotional and more scientific. Jake's situation was very unique because, first off, he wasn't a scientist—so he didn't have our training or our mindset—and second, his loyalties were divided. He, more than anyone, needed somewhere to vent and get things off his chest…Most of it was about you," Norm finishes, looking at her elegant frame.

"Really?"

Norm nods, leaning towards the computer. "Okay, so hit this button," Norm says, pointing with the cursor on the screen, "When you want to listen to a certain video. I've strung them all together, so it'll stop itself when you're finished watching." Neytiri just nods, already fascinated. Norm looks torn between wanting to leave and wanting to stay.

"Neytiri," Norm says, waiting for her to look up. When she does, he continues. "_Don't _tell Jake it was me who sent you here, okay? I had nothing to do with this. If you tell him, I bet he'd kill me," Norm says his certainty.

Neytiri simply smiles, nodding. "Irayo, Norm."

Norm grins quickly back before heading out and back to his lab.

Neytiri clicks 'Play' and lets the sequence run, surprised and flattered by all the information that she discovers.

**July 13****th**

_ "Grace would kill me if she heard this, so I'm filming this while everyone's asleep. But I really don't know how much I can take of this…Quaritch on one end and the Na'vi on the other—I mean, really, could the pressure get any worse? As if Neytiri wasn't practically killing me everyday, Quaritch keeps pumping me for information is making it so much worse. I really don't know how long I can do this without cracking. It's better to keep this, though, from Grace and the others. Don't want to seem off my game, especially if they start suspecting I'm leaking information to Quaritch and Parker…"_

**July 23****rd**

_ "Things are tightening here, on both ends. I haven't given Quaritch news in weeks, and I'm sure he's foaming at the mouth for even the tiniest bit of information. Grace, on the other hand, doesn't want me to get too close. I don't know why," he pauses the check behind him at the sleeping Grace, "she puts up such a wall. It doesn't make sense. I thought she'd be the closest the clan, but she seems pretty estranged…Something must have happened before I got here or at the school, but she's never mentioned it…"_

**July 24****th**

_"I really don't know how to talk to her anymore. It used to be, we'd just run and hunt and ride and train and practice…But now, everything's so…different. I mean, how can I talk normally to her without just blurting everything out?" Neytiri knew exactly how she felt at the time. "God, why am I even worrying about this? She's with Tsu'tey anyway, so it doesn't even matter." Jake looks down for a moment before shutting to off button quickly. His expression and actions say more than his words ever could._

**July 30****th**

_ "Okay, I've decided to make these logs as a last resort. The situation here is getting serious, and I want to make sure that whoever finds these knows how I really feel—about the clan, about Quaritch, about this whole clusterfuck…" Jake pauses looking down and putting his head in his hands. He sucks in a breath after a moment and lifts his head. "And about Neytiri." He sighs, "especially about Neytiri."_

**August 10****th**

_ "Okay, I'm coming clean," Jake says, trying to be confident. "I like her. A lot." He sighs, gathering up his courage for a mock confrontation. He straightens his jaw and face, looking towards the camera seriously. "Neytiri, I," he begins with a strong voice, only to choke on his own words partway though. Sighing, Jake says, "Jesus, I'm not even talking right to her and I can't even say it without chickening out. This is never going to happen."_

_ A second later, another video pops up. He shut off the previous one just after failing._

_ "I did it!" He whispers excitedly. "I said it. I love you. I said it!" He takes a deep breath, facing the camera solemnly again. "Neytiri, I love you." He breathed out a large sigh of relief before looking at camera, and the viewer, in the eye again. "All I have to do now is say it to her face…"_

"I love you," Jake says, crouching beside her, running a hand over her cheek. Neyitri starts, surprised that she hadn't even noticed him come in. She quickly turns toward him, taking his face in her hands and kisses him—she pours out all of her feelings she experienced while watching him struggle with his own emotions in those logs into one powerful, passionate kiss.

When they break away, the two rest their foreheads against one another, soaking up as much peace and contentment in their lives as possible.

Translations:

Kaltxì: "Hello"

Uniltìranyu: "Dreamwalker"; Avatar

Kehe: No

_Author's Note: I'm planning to do a part two of this chapter, from Jake's POV, to fill in some of the blanks in this one._


	10. Chapter 10: Logs Part 2

_Author's Note: I'm terribly sorry this story took so long to update. I've been trying and trying to get back into writing my Avatar fics, but it's quite hard. Now that school's in session, I've found even less time to write, but I want you to know that I haven't given up on this story. Hope you enjoy!_

**Chapter 10: Logs (Part 2: Jake's POV)**

_Recap:_

_Norm is sitting alongside a few other lab technicians, all bent over their microscopes, completely oblivious to the pair who just walked in. Neytiri looks to Jake, who shrugs his shoulders, and then clears his throat, trying to get the anthropologist's attention. When Norm doesn't move, Jake sighs and walks up behind him, bending forward._

_ "Hey," Jake says, his head right next to Norm's ear._

_ "Woah!" Norm yells, jumping backwards, disturbing the quiet environment. The other two scientists glance up at the commotion, but quickly resume their studies. "What was that for? Jesus, you scared me," Norm says indignantly, righting the chair that fell over and fixing his slides._

_ "Well, Max said you were at the lab and wanted to talk to us, so here we are," Jake explains, still grinning._

_ "Oh, right. Kaltxì, Neytiri," Norm waves around Jake to the tall huntress._

_ "Kaltxì," Neytiri returns, impressed by his almost-perfect accent._

_ "Oh, sorry. Neytiri, this is Norm; I worked with him since I arrived here. So," Jake says, turning back to Norm, "where's your Avatar?"_

_ "Here, I can show you," Norm says, leading the other two down the hall to the bio-lab. As they approach the room, Norm's Avatar could be see floating serenely in an amino tank, twitched every few minutes._

_ Having never seen an Avatar in one of their chambers, Neytiri moves to the side of the tank, looking towards the Avatar with great interest. As she continues to study it, Norm heads to the electronic panel of the tank, checking that his Avatar is recovering on schedule. Moving her face closer to the tank to study the Na'vi-like being, Neytiri flinches backwards as the Avatar's hand lashes out into the fluid._

"_It's okay," Jake says, coming up behind her. "Norm has his __uniltìranyu in here so that it can heal. His Avatar might have different reactions to The People's medicine, so we're just being careful. Believe it or not, this is the safest place for his body to heal," Jake finished, guessing all of her questions. Neytiri nodded, even though she know she wouldn't let her body heal in a place like this—so cold, wet, and confined…Neytiri shivered at the thought and Jake rubbed her arms in comfort. The two stood looking at Norm's avatar until they were called away by Max's voice._

"_Hey, Jake, Neytiri," Max said nodding to the couple as they turned towards him. "Jake, I was wondering if I could talk to you privately for a while?"_

"_Sure," Jake said, wondering what he wanted to talk about that was so sensitive. "I'll see you later," Jake says to Neytiri, squeezing her hand. She smiles quickly at him and then watches him walk off with Max before turning towards the lab techs to find Norm._

Jake followed Max down the far corridor, which leads away from the link room and the bio labs. When they're out of earshot, Jake turns to Max.

"So I'm guessing you got some information off the feed from the ISV?"

"What? No, no it's not that," Max says distractedly. He looks up at Jake, barely containing his large grin. "I think," Max says, looking down and then back up. "I think I've found you guys a new home."

"Are you kidding me?" Jake asks, completely surprised.

"No, I'm completely serious. After I gave up on the transmission—it was really complicated and it would have taken _hours _to decode, and even then we might not—"

"Max!"

"Right, sorry. Anyway, after I gave up working on _that_, I was searching around, using the topographical map to assess how much damaged land we've got out there—and I _found it_."

Jake was just as excited as Max, but he made a point to reign it in. No use getting all worked up—especially if the area wasn't even suitable. Jake trusted Max implicitly on all things scientific…But did he know enough about the Na'vi to find them a new home?

"So…Where is it? _What _is it?"

"Well," Max says, deliberating. After a moment he turns and begins walking down to the hall. "It'll be easier if I show you," he calls to Jake, signaling that he should follow. Maz leads the way down the hall until they end up in the old Ops Center. Though the room was slashed in half recently, those still working on the base made sure the important aspects were still usable—things like the holographic topographical map—which was set, slightly askew, in the far left of the room. To keep out the Pandoran air, the construction guys sealed off the room to make it air-tight before sucking out all of the gases and replacing the area with oxygen.

"It's about the same distance away from the base that Hometree was, just in the opposite direction," Max explains, walking towards the hologram. "And it's big enough that it _should _hold the whole clan—"

"Max, you still haven't told me what it is," Jake reminds him, glancing pointedly at the map.

"Right. Okay, well, keep in mind that this is the only area that I've found, and I've been searching for days—"

"Can I just see it?" Jake asks impatiently, hoping to finally resolve one of the biggest problems facing his people.

"Sure," Max says, deftly tapping on a few controls to start up the map, sending the viewfinder way out into the wilderness. When the scrolling ended with a large piece of ancient coral dominating most of the screen, Jake looked up, confused.

"And what is this supposed to be?"

"You're new home!" Max answers excitedly, rounding the table to explain the coral's features to his Na'vi friend. "Look, I know it's different—"

"It's a chunk of coral, Max."

"—But it _will _work. It has almost all the same features as Hometree—"

"—Except that it belongs at the bottom of an ocean."

"—_But _it will work better," Max finishes. Jake looks at him dubiously. "Trust me," Max says, trying to reassure the disgruntled Na'vi leader. "It _will _work. Just wait and see, all right?"

"Fine," Jake says begrudgingly, leaning in for a closer look at what could potentially be his and his clan's new home. Max was right, the structure didn't look very different from a normal Pandoran tree…That is, until you got up close and personal with it. "Why has no one looked at this before?" Jake asks, confused as to why it's left still standing, especially when it's in rather close proximity to the RDA base of operations.

"Oh, we've looked at it, all right," Max says, zooming in on the tree-like coral. "Notice how the skeleton of the coral looks harder than usual? Kind of withered?"

"No, I was pretty much preoccupied with the fact that you want us to live inside something that should be submerged in water."

"Exactly. It _should _be in water…But it's not. The water was drained here when the RDA first arrived. This used to be the closest water source near the base, so they used it's water to run experiments. They wanted to see if the water was drinkable by humans and Avatar, and once they found that it wasn't detrimental to either, they siphoned off most of it to use for day-to-day use around the base. This spot's been left dry for at least ten years."

"So if this coral's so old and decrepit, will it even be able to support us without collapsing? Bringing in a whole clan to live in a hunk of coral will be pretty heavy," Jake warns, scrutinizing the tree-like structure.

"It should be fine," Max says, punching some calculations into his hand-held computer. "Because of all the moisture in this region of Pandora, the coral's hydrated on a regular basis. It's never enough to get the coral back up to one hundred percent, but it makes to coral strong enough to weather a lot of problems. It'll be able to deal with you guys moving in easily."

"Okay, so if the structure isn't a problem, how about location? Do you have any idea if it's close to fertile ground or good hunting areas? We can't be travelling all over the place for every meal…"

"It'll be perfect. It's about equal distance from the base that Hometree was, and the jungles this far out haven't been contaminated or flushed out in any way. If, for some reason, there really isn't enough game around, we could always send some over," Max says, his face turning thoughtful as he contemplates that challenge.

"Okay," Jake concedes after a moment. "If you're _sure _there's nothing more…?"

"Normal?" Max questions with a smile.

"Yeah," Jake says, smiling back. "If you're sure there's nothing more normal around here, then we'll take a look. But I can't make any promises," he warns.

"Hey, it's not be looking for a home for a few hundred people," Max says, putting his hands up.

"True," Jake says quietly. He glances back down the way they came. "Well, I should talk to Neytiri. She'll probably want to talk to Mo'at about all this, and if we want to check it out and get home before it gets too dark we should leave soon…"

"Of course," Max says, turning off his devices and gesturing towards the door.

"Thank you, though, Max. You have no idea how much this will help me…If it's habitable, that is."  
"It will be," Max assures him, leading Jake down the hall.

When Jake comes back into the lab room, he's surprised to see that Neytiri was nowhere to be found. He glances around at the lab techs, seeing Norm among them, and knowing that she couldn't have gone far…

He walked around slowly, getting more frustrated when he still couldn't find her…How hard could it be to spot a ten-foot-tall blue-skinned huntress in a room full of humans? _Apparently impossible, _Jake thinks. Finally, as he looked to the rooms in the far back of the lab, he saw that one of them was occupied. Neytiri had her back to him, and was looking intently at a computer screen. _What could she be staring at? _Jake wondered. _Does she even know how to use a computer? _

As he got closer, he started hearing a male voice emanating from in the room. _What was she watching? _Jake thinks curiously before realizing that the voice belongs to him. _Oh, shit_.

Jake begins to panic, realizing that, though Neytiri knew about his deal with Quaritch and Parker, she might not know all of the gory details. And this is _definitely _not the way he wants her to find out. He takes a deep breath before walking forward and opening the door, slipping in behind her quietly. If he had looked back, Jake might've seen the small smirk gathering on Norm's face. He shouldn't have worried, though, since Jake can tell what she's watching from the moment he walks in.

"_Neytiri, I love you." _

Jake could hear his own voice coming across the room, and he breathed a sigh of relief. This wasn't anything horrible or subversive…Just embarrassing.

"_All I have to do now is say it to her face," _video-Jake was saying. _Well, better get all my humiliation done in one fell swoop_, Jake thinks, hoping this is the last of it, and that she hasn't seen too much of what is meant to be _private_. He waits a beat to see if the video will continue, but when it doesn't he takes a step closer to his mate, placing his five-fingered hands lightly on her shoulders.

"I love you," he whispers quietly in her ear before she jumps up, startled by the intrusion. She turns towards him, all her love and acceptance shining through her golden-green eyes. She immediately places her hands on his cheeks and kisses him passionately. After a minute, they each pull back, resting their heads against each other, sharing a small moment of perfection within their hectic lives.

"I think Max found a home for us," Jake speaks quietly after a moment, watching her face.

"Really?" Neytiri asks, pulling away from him to look out and see if Max is around. When she doesn't see him, her eyes return to her mate's. Jake nods, smiling.

"Yeah. He showed me what it looked like, but it might be good for us to fly out there before we head back to the Tree of Souls. It's not very far from here."

"That sounds fine. I want to speak to Mahx about this new home myself—do you know where he is?"

"He should be down that way," Jake says, gesturing down a far hallway. "I'm sure he'll be happy to explain everything to you. I've got to speak to Norm about something anyway," he says, a frown appearing on his face. Neytiri smiles, trying not to laugh. She can tell what this conversation is going to be about, and she doesn't want to get Norm into any more trouble by laughing at the invasion of her mate's privacy. She simply nods, squeezing his hand lightly before leaving the room to search for Max.

Jake follows her out, but crosses the room to where his friend is sitting, studying samples under a very large microscope. Jake walks up behind him, standing a bit to his right.

"Hey," Norm calls out, feeling an uncomfortable pressure on his shoulder. He turns around to see Jake standing behind him, one hand clenched rather hard on his right shoulder.

"Thanks a lot man," Jake mutters to Norm quietly. Norm just smirks at him, not even bothering to contain his amusement. "How'd you even get them, anyway? They were _supposed _to be _private_," Jake emphasizes, glaring down at him.

"Nothing's private on a computer, my friend," Norm answers with a chuckle.

"You know I hate you, right?" Jake asks, only half-joking.

"Right back at ya," Norm answers, turning back to his samples. Jake pauses a minute before speaking again.

"How'd you know anyway?" Jake asks hesitantly, not sure if he wants the answer to this question.

"August 5th, 2154," Norm recites, looking up. "I was awake, if you look in the background."

"Are you kidding me?" Jake asks, hoping so much that Norm is messing with him. That would be, _of course, _the time that Jake was arguing with himself (out loud, sadly) over what to say to Neytiri. Or if he should even say something at all.

"Nope, sorry. I was there; you woke me up. You get loud when you get frustrated."

"Thanks." Jake pauses, scrutinizing Norm's face. "And you felt the need to show her these _why_?"

"Well, it's not what I set out to do today, if that's what you're asking. It just kind of…came up."

"How do _private _videologs come up in casual conversation? Especially with someone who doesn't even know what a videolog _is_?"

"Oh, I'm sure Neytiri knows what they are," Norm says confidently. "I mean, at the school, Grace probably—"

"Norm!" Jake interrupts, exasperated.

"Right," he says, gathering his thoughts. "Well, I was saying how you were an ass when I first met you, and I mentioned how you had a lot to deal with and you didn't always talk to us about it, and she asked me what I meant, so I—"

"You just thought you'd show her my logs?"

"Well, no, I didn't think that. I would've explained that, but it'd be complicated and confusing, and not to mention _awkward…_So I thought letting _you _tell her would be simpler."  
"Hm. Awkward," Jake states, his voice even. "Well I'm sure I won the awkward Olympics today, so you don't need to worry about that," Jake says sarcastically.

"Oh, cheer up," Norm says. "It's not like I showed her what you sent to Quaritch." Jake nodded. He _did _have a point there. "This stuff was cute. I'm guessing she appreciated it," Norm said with a knowing grin.

"Shut it, Spellman," Jake retorts, taking his leave.

"See ya later," Norm calls over his shoulder before turning back to his samples. Jake rolls his eyes before heading down the deserted halls to find Neytiri and head out to their possible coral home.

_Fucking coral_, Jake thinks, shaking his head. _Is there _nothing _normal left around?_


End file.
